{"id":103125,"date":"2024-10-25T16:42:08","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=103125"},"modified":"2024-10-25T16:42:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:42:08","slug":"at-least-4-teams-expressing-trade-interest-in-clippers-pj-tucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/25\/at-least-4-teams-expressing-trade-interest-in-clippers-pj-tucker\/","title":{"rendered":"At Least 4 Teams Expressing Trade Interest In Clippers\u2019 PJ Tucker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As the Los Angeles Clippers and PJ Tucker rifle through their contacts in hopes of finding <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/25\/mavs-among-best-possible-trade-destinations-for-pj-tucker\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a suitable trade destination<\/a> for the veteran forward, multiple contenders \u201chave held conversations with\u201d Tucker\u2019s agent, per The Athletic\u2019s Kelly Iko and Law Murray.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A number of contenders \u2014 including the 76ers, Heat, Bucks and Suns \u2014 have held trade conversations with P.J. Tucker\u2019s representation, sources told myself and <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LawMurrayTheNU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@LawMurrayTheNU<\/a>. The 14-year veteran remains away from the team, hopeful for a solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KellyIko\/status\/1849634962116366578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 25, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns are among those teams. Tucker has familiarity with each of those four after playing for them in the past. In fact, the Sixers are the team that traded Tucker to the Clippers, loading his salary into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a> package.<\/p>\n<h2>At Least 4 Teams Expressing Trade Interest In Clippers\u2019 PJ Tucker<\/h2>\n<h3>Philadelphia 76ers<\/h3>\n<p>The 76ers\u2019 interest in Tucker might not be expected since they traded him last November. However, Philly has loaded up their roster like a cheesesteak in hopes of making a run to the NBA Finals. Furthermore, while the Sixers amassed quite a lot of talent this offseason, they\u2019re still lacking at the defensive end.<\/p>\n<p>If Tucker was acquired, he would enter a forward rotation that includes players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/oubreke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kelly Oubre Jr.<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/martica02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Caleb Martin<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/yabusgu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Guerschon Yabusele<\/a>. That being said, George\u2019s preseason injury and the possibility he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/14\/sixers-joel-embiid-stunning-admission-tu-paul-george\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">doesn\u2019t play back-to-backs<\/a> in the regular season could lead to Tucker playing regularly.<\/p>\n<p>To complete a trade, the Sixers may need to combine the salaries of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/martike04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KJ Martin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/councri01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ricky Council IV<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksre01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reggie Jackson<\/a>. If so, it\u2019s worth noting that neither Martin nor Jackson can be traded until Dec. 15.<\/p>\n<h3>Miami Heat<\/h3>\n<p>Tucker played for the Heat in 2021-22, a season that ended with a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals. Put another way, Miami was quite successful with Tucker on the roster. The veteran may have been a placeholder, but he started in 70 of the 71 games he played that season.<\/p>\n<p>With Erik Spoelstra, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/butleji01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jimmy Butler<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/adebaba01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bam Adebayo<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/herroty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Herro<\/a> still in Miami, returning to South Beach could be like riding a bike. Whether he starts will depend on Spoelstra\u2019s assessment of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jovicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jovic<\/a>. Regardless of that though, there are few players who are better representations of <em>Heat Culture<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>To complete a trade for Tucker, the Heat may surrender <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/robindu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Duncan Robinson<\/a>, who is owed $19.4 million this season. To make salaries match, the Clippers would likely have to send Tucker, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hylanbo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bones Hyland<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownko01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kobe Brown<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chrisca02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Christie<\/a> to Miami.<\/p>\n<h3>Milwaukee Bucks<\/h3>\n<p>Tucker has played just 43 games for the Bucks. Yet, those look like 43 of the most important games in franchise history. By the time he left Milwaukee, the Bucks had captured a title for the first time in 50 years. He wasn\u2019t just a background player either, as he started in 20 of those games, with 19 coming in the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Budenholzer and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a> are gone, replaced by Doc Rivers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a>. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/middlkh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Khris Middleton<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lopezbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brook Lopez<\/a> are still in their core. If Tucker returns to Milwaukee, he could start and fit like a glove. That being said, with Rivers\u2019 preference for veterans, he could even play substantial minutes off the bench.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for the Bucks, completing a trade for Tucker will force them into a tough decision. Because they\u2019re a second apron team, they can\u2019t combine salaries. That essentially limits them to choosing between Tucker and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portibo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bobby Portis<\/a> (who\u2019s making $12.6 million this season). Yet, Portis is a perennial Sixth Man of the Year contender.<\/p>\n<h3>Phoenix Suns<\/h3>\n<p>Of the four contenders said to have interest in Tucker, he played for the Suns the longest. In fact, when he made his triumphant return to the NBA in 2012-13, it was with Phoenix. The former second-round pick stayed in The Valley for four-plus seasons, earning a reputation as an elite defender.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, the Suns are the only team Tucker played for that didn\u2019t reach the playoffs. Should he return to Phoenix, he\u2019ll have a much better chance this time around though. Instead of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bledser01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eric Bledsoe<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dragigo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Goran Dragic<\/a>, the Suns are being led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Tucker, who would reunite with Budenholzer, probably won\u2019t be a starter. However, Phoenix\u2019s second unit frontcourt is very young, and somebody as seasoned as Tucker would be an attractive fit. To complete the trade, the Suns just have to be willing to trade a different veteran: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/allengr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grayson Allen<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Los Angeles Clippers and PJ Tucker rifle through their contacts in hopes of finding a suitable trade destination for the veteran forward, multiple contenders \u201chave held conversations with\u201d Tucker\u2019s agent, per The Athletic\u2019s Kelly Iko and Law Murray. A number of contenders \u2014 including the 76ers, Heat, Bucks and Suns \u2014 have held [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":103159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1608,16,15,62,3,13,28,4721],"tags":[4774,2282],"class_list":["post-103125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clippers","category-basketball","category-heat","category-bucks","category-nba","category-news","category-76ers","category-suns","category-trade-rumors","tag-rumors","tag-pj-tucker"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}